Lloyds Bank Foundation 2021 funding now open with £9.5m available
Melanie May | 4 March 2021 | News
Lloyds Bank Foundation has opened its 2021 funding today, with £9.5m to distribute to small and local charities in England and Wales across the year.
Charities helping people overcome complex social issues can apply for two-year unrestricted grants of £50,000 and this year the Foundation will be open all year rather than through funding rounds, so that charities can apply when they are ready.
The Foundation is ringfencing some of its grants: a quarter will go to small charities led by and for Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities. A separate funding strand for charities specifically working on racial equity will also open in the coming months.
Overall, it plans to distribute the £9.5m to 190 small charities with an income between £25,000 and £1m across England and Wales. The priority is charities tackling complex social issues such as homelessness, trafficking and domestic abuse, and with a proven track record of helping people achieve positive change in their local communities.
Alongside unrestricted funding, successful charities will also be supported by one of the Foundation’s regional managers, who will work with them to access a wide range of organisational development support to help meet identified needs.
Not all charities will be eligible to apply in all areas and the Foundation will make clear in advance which charities and areas it is more likely to fund at any given time.
In its funding decisions, it will consider local need, the prevalence of eligible small and medium sized charities, the nature of the region and the level of investment the Foundation has given to each complex social issue in that area, including its portfolio of live grants. Whether small charities can apply to the Foundation this year depends on which Local Authority they do the majority of their work in, and the complex social issue they are working to address. The Foundation reviews and updates these regional priorities every six months.
Paul Streets, Chief Executive at Lloyds Bank Foundation said:
“The last year has been challenging for small charities responding to the pandemic. They’ve been vital in absorbing the worst effects of the crisis and providing support to people that need them the most. Even though we can now see a path out of the pandemic, locally rooted charities need long-term support to help left behind communities recover.”
“Last year, 38% of our COVID Recovery grants were awarded to charities led by and for minoritised groups, but with these communities continuing to be disproportionately affected, we remain committed to continuing to ringfence at least a quarter of our funding and overcoming structural inequalities in sector funding.”
A Q&A webinar with the members of the grants team will be held on 30 March between 2pm – 3.30pm. Applicants can register for the webinar here, and more information is available here.
This week has also seen Localgiving make an announcement about its funding – it is doubling the number of grants its Magic Little Grant Fund has available for small charities and organisations, with 2,000 available.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.